Temperature regulating and humidifying apparatus



' July 19, `1932. A c. 1 WHITAKER 1,868,264

TEMPERATURE REGULATING AN D HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS Filed June 1 7, 1927 2 sheets-sheet i 2 Patented July 19, 1932 UNITEDJ STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES L. WHITAKR, OF WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 FRICK COM- PANY, 0F WAYNESBORO, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA TEMPERATURE REGULATING AND HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS Application filed June 17,

My invention relates to a combined heating and refrigerating apparatus designed particularly for use with rooms for the storage of fruits and vegetables, and such like products and for so regulating the temperature and humidity of such storage rooms as to best adapt them not only for the preservation of the contents, but the ripening thereof as well.

It is well known that such goods carried in storage are allowed to ripen in the storage room and that the ripening is assisted by establishing certain temperature and humidity conditions.

It is also well known that some products, when placed in storage, give olf a considerable amount of carbon dioxide and other gases that are undesirable and to some extent injurious to the products if not removed. Efforts at removing these gases have followed various lines. In some cases, ventilating chimneys or pipes have been built into the walls of the building with ports open to' the storage chambers. In other cases, windows or port openings passing directly through the storage chamber walls are provided and these are opened and closed as desired. In still other cases, refrigerating coils have been used to induce a flow of air through adjacent ducts, communicating with the atmosphere. i

Ripening has been assisted in different ways-among these being a release of warm vapor within the storage chamber from the surface of water contained in a vessel having an open flame heating device underneath.

It is desirableto control the ventilation independent of humidity and refrigeration and obviously, it is very desirable to accomplish ventilation under known conditions, both as to quantity of air introduced and temperature.

It is equally desirable to control humidity independent of ventilation or refrigeration as this is sometimes operative when other features are idle. Obviously, it is desirable to have known humidity conditions.

lVith these facts and conditions in mind, the primary object of my invention is to provide a controlled ventilation combined with a controlled temperature for such storage 1927. Serial No. 199,599.

chamber. An additional purpose is to provide controlled humidity for certain cases where this is desirable. Another purpose is to provide for the application of automatic starting and stopping means for all or part of the above mentioned controlling means Without extensive change in the design of the manually regulated equipment, when this is desired.

Automatic starting and stopping are not essential to successful operation but are a convenience desired by some users and to others these become labor savers. In any case, however',l it is desirable lto control temperature, ventilation `or humidity by attaching either manual or automatic devices at will and the apparatus should accommodate itself to this. y

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, 3 Figure 1 isa top plan view illustrating one application of my invention,

A Figure 2, a side elevation.

Figure 3, a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the pipe connections between the compressor and condenser and the connections between the water cooling coils and the cooling tank.

, Figure 4, a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the water tank and its connection to the cooling unit, as well as the pump for circulating the water and the circuit controlling valves for controlling such circulation, and

Figure 5, a wiring.

diagrammatic view of the In the drawings reference character 10 in dicates a building provided with one or more storage rooms 11 each of which in the present instance is provided with a plurality of cross-beams 12 for supporting perishables taken in from lthe interior of the building, the valve or damper 13 being adapted to cut off the entrance yof outside air. The inlet pipe terminates in a casing 16 provided with a heating unit 17 and a cooling unit 18 through which air may be forced by a fan 50. The operations of the heating unit 17 and fan 50 are controlled by a mercury switch 20 connected with a thermostat 21 in \.the storage chamber preferably suspended in the center of the same.

A humidifier or air moistener 19 is provided for supplementing the moisture of the air within the storage chamber and a dehumidifier or air drying device 51 is provided for removing surplus moisture from the air within such chamber.- The dehumidifier or air drying device comprises coils of pipe beneath which is disposed a pan 52 suspended by means of brackets 53. The coils are connected by pipes 54 and/55 with the cooling system as shown in rFigure 3.

An outlet pipe 22 is provided for permitting the foul air and gases to be forced out of the storage room by the admission of fresh air through the air inlet pipe 13, said pipe 22 being provided with a controlling valve 23 having an operating handle 24.

A cooling tank 25 is provided with a plurality of cooling coils (not shown) and such coils are cooled by a refrigerating system including a compressor 26 driven by a motor .27, condenser 28 and a receiver 29 connected by means of pipes 30 and 31 with the cooling coils in the tank 25. Thetank 25 is lconnected by means of pipes 32 and 33 with the cooling unit 18 within the casing 16 and a pump 34 operated by a motor 35 yis disposed in the pipe line 32 for circulating the liquid through the cooling unit. The temperature of the liquid within the tank 25 is controlled by a thermostat 36 which operates a mercury switch 37 for making and breaking the clrcuit to the motors 27 and 35 to interrupt the operation of the refrigerator and the circulation of'chilled liquid through the cooling unit 18.

I have illustrated in Figure 5 one arrangement of means by which the compressor motor 27, pump motor and fan motor 50 may be connected by conductors 39 and 40 and also I have illustrated the manner in ywhich a fan and heating unit 17 may be y.connected by conductors 38 and V39 from power lines 41 and 42 by means of a manually controlled switch 43. When the swltch 43 is the position illustrated in Figure 5,' the current will flow through conductor 39,'

motors 27, 35 and 50, mercury switch 37, and conductor 40 completing the circuit through the refrgerating system and when the switch is thrown to the dotted line position, the current .will flow through the conductor 38, mercury switch 20, fan 50, heater 17, and conductor 40 for operating the heating and circulating elements in the storage chamber. It is to be understood that with the switch 43 in the position shown in Figure 5, should the temperature ofthe chamber 11 be below a certain degree, the mercury switch 37 will be open until the temperature rises to the specified degree governed by the thermostat 36 which controls the switch 37.

The temperature of the liquid in the tank 25 is controlled by a thermostat 36 which operates a mercury switch 37 for closing the circuit to the motor 27. l

In operation assuming that the temperature of the outside air is lower'than the temperature desired within the chamber, as in cold weather, and the humidity is also less than desired the Imanually operable switch 43 `is operated for completing the circuit through the heating unit 17 so that it may operate to raise the temperature within the storage chamber. At the same time the humidifier operates as needed. As long as the outside temperature remains lower than the desired temperature within the chamber 11, the switch 43 is left with the circuit closed through H, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5 and the thermostat entirely controls the temperature, the humidity being controlled by a self-contained automatic arrangement, whereas when the outside temperature is above that desired 'within the chamber, as in warm weather, the switch 43 isleft in the opposite position so that the circuit is closed through C causing the operation of" pumps 26 and 34 for circulating the cold liquid from the cooling tank through the cooling unit. In other words, manual switch 43 isonly operated at the seasons of the year when the outside temperatures are above or below a predetermined degree. The

circulating fan 50 located back of the heating and cooling units operates for cooling the air until the predetermined temperature 1s reached when the thermostatically controlled switch l20 operates to temporarily break the circuit and interrupt the operation of the heating unit and fan without changing the position of the manually operable switch 43. Simultaneously if the air within the chamber is too dry the humidifier 19 sprays moisture into the air within'the chamber until` the properhumidity is reached when its operation will be interrupted. Likewise if the air is too moist the dehumdiiier or air drier will operate to remove the surplus amount of moisture from the air, when its operation will be interrupted.

'When the air within the storage chamber becomes laden with carbon dioxide and other noxious gases the valve 23 is operated to stack or chimney which would cause the necessary circulation of the air without the use of the fan on account of natural laws.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the f art that Various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in theI specication, but only as set forth in the appended claims. Having thus fully described my said in- Vention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: Y l. A storage chamber for fruits comprising a compartment, an air outlet from said compartment, a manually operable valve for controlling said outlet, an air inlet to said compartment, a casing in said compartment adjacent to and connected with said air inlet, air heating and air cooling means in said casing, and a fan in said casing for circu- Iating air over said cooling and heating means, substantially as set forth.

2. A storage chamber for fruits comprising a compartment, an air outlet from said compartment, a manually operable valve for controlling said outlet, an air inlet to said compartment, a casing in said compartment adjacent to and connected'wth said air inlet,

I air heatin and air cooling means in said casing, a an in saidI casing or circulating air over said vcooling and heating means, and a cooling coil lin sald comparment for reducing the humidity of the air in said compartment, substantially as set forth. v In vwitness whereof, I have hereunto se my hand at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, this 14th day of June, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-seven. 0 CHARLES L. WHITAER. 

